Who killed Quentin
by jediknigh5
Summary: Ethan summons Giles, Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Xander, and Jenny to a mysterious mansion to confront Quentin Travers. Things quickly escalate into murder. Set after first season of "Buffy."
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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Giles was suprised when his mentor Quentin Travers asked to see him in this old mansion, even more suprised that he aske Giles to bring his friends, but Giles obliged. He brought Buffy, Xander, Willow, Cordelia, Angel, and Jenny to the Winchester Mansion. Giles had ofcourse heard the stories of this place. The Winchester rifle was, for better or worse, the gun that truley won the west for the white settlers. Sarah Winchester eventually inherited more than 20 millions dollars from this company, plus 1 thousand dollars per day, from Winchester stock. And this was in 1870s money. But all her money brought Sarah Winchester little joy. After her husband and infant daughter died suddenly of illness, Sarah came to believe she was being haunted by the ghosts of those killed by her company's guns. After consulting a medium, Sarah went out west to build a home, and never stop building. The theory was that ghosts needed a permenant home to haunt, that if Sarah never stopped buiding she could essentially fool the ghosts, and live forever. Construction of the Winchester Mansion went on, practically non-stop, from 1884 until 1922, when Sarah did in fact die. This mansion seemed to have no set design, rooms were built, torn down, and rebuilt many times. There were doors leading to twenty foot drops, stairways that led nowhere, and secret passagways within secret passagways. Why exactly Quentin Travers wanted Giles to bring eveyone all the way to San Francisco he didn't yet know. Perhaps he just wanted to congragulate them on Buffy's recent victory against the Master, it wasn't a stretch to say that they saved the world. When the seven of them got here Quentin wasn't here, there was only a maid, a young blond woman known as Tara. Tara just told them that their dinner was ready, her employer would be joining them shortly. Dinner was tasty enough, it ended before Quentin showed up. After dinner Tara escorted the seven guests to another room. Quentin was indeed waiting for them.

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Quentin: Rupert, it's good to see you.

Giles: It's good to see you too. Although I fear I will soon wish it was under more pleasant circumstances.

Quentin: Quite possibly. So, why did you summon me here?

Giles: I don't understand. You asked me to come here, and bring our team.

Quentin: Did you speak with me directly?

Giles: No, but this person knew the codes words for the Watcher's Council.

Quentin: So did the person I spoke with.

Ethan: That would be me.

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A new mysterious figure came to talk with the group. This man was Ethan Rayne, an old "friend" of Giles. Like Giles, Ethan had been told by his parents that he would one day be forced to become a watcher. But instead, Ethan made his own path in life. Not exactly a noble path, Ethan was even accused of worshipping chaos, but it was his life to live.

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Quentin: What is the meaning of this Ethan?

Buffy: Good question, and who are you exactly?

Ethan: An old friend of Giles, or enemy. Friend, enemy, I forget where we left off.

Giles: We weren't on speaking terms. Now, if you called us all here, you want to tell us why.

Ethan: Fair enough. Buffy Summers, you recently saved the world by killing the Master, the vampire king of Sunnydale. Am I right?

Buffy: Yes, thanks to a little help from my friends here.

Ethan: Indeed. There are three people in this house who played no part in saving the world. The first is me, I am too cowardly to risk my life to save others. The second person is the young woman Tara, but then again she didn't exactly know what was going on. But the last person, Quentin, you knew exactly what was going on, didn't you?

Quentin Thanks to reports from Rupert yes. We were researching a way to defeat the Master, but Buffy Summers solved that problem on her own.

Ethan: My understanding of that incident is that the Master briefly freed himself, with slayer blood. It seems like the smart play, would have been to simply leave Sunnydale, get her slayer blood as far away as possible. Granted you won in the end, but it wasa hell of a risk to take.

Giles: We didn't know at the time...

Ethan: But Quentin did, didn't you.

Quentin: Why would I want the Master to open the Hellmouth and destroy the world?

Ethan: Because you have a fatal flaw in common with the Master, you both put way too much stock in prophecy. You believed that Buffy would die, get resurected, and that there would be two slayers.

Willow: I thought two slayers at the same time was impossible.

Ethan: Not if one is clinically dead for a minute. Tell the truth Quentin, there is another slayer, isn't there?

Quentin: There are things which you do not yet know about. Battles to come, the ultimate confrontation between good and evil. We needed more warriors.

Xander: You know how close she came to being dead for good? You have no right to put her or anyone else in danger like that.

Quentin: I believe it was one of your american generals who said "War is Hell." We do what we have to do to win.

Ethan: I think that these people have more than done their part. You are going to give them each a free pass to walk away.

Quentin: No, I am not. Buffy must fulfill her destiny, for however long she has. The rest know too much. If they were to try and leave, we would do what we have to do.

Ethan: In that case, I have a few gifts for our guests.

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Ethan then handed wrapped boxes, like christmas gifts, to Buffy, Xander, Giles, Cordelia, Willow, and Jenny. Ethan apologized to Angel for not having one for him, but it would soon become apparent why Angel didn't need a gift. They all unwrapped their presents. For Xander, it was a leadpipe. For Buffy, it was a rope. For Cordelia, it was a gun. For Willow, a wrench. For Jenny, a candlestick. And for Giles, it was a knife.

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Ethan: Now you see why you didn't need one Angel.

Angel: Yeah, I've already got my weapon, my fangs, ready. But the question remains, why does anyone need a weapon?

Ethan: Because Quentin here has made it clear he will not allow any of you to leave willingly.

Quentin: If this is supposed to frighten me Ethan it won't work. Even if you kill me, others will take my place. And they will kill you for this.

Ethan: Perhaps. But, if you were to die, with only the eight of us as witnesses, they couldn't say for certain who the killer is. The choice is up to you, whether to take your freedom, or let Quentin tell you what to do.

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Ethan then quickly turned out the lights. They were only off for about a minute. During this time there was a gunshot. And when they came back on, someone had indeed been murdered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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When Ethan turned the light back on Quentin Travers had indeed been killed, or so it seemed. Angel went to examine and make sure.

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Angel: He's dead alright. Except I don't see any bullet wounds. Or any wounds really.

Jenny: Well we all heard the gunshot, who had the gun.

Xander: Cordelia. Where is she?

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The seven of them looked around, Cordelia was gone.

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Willow: So Cordelia shot him, and fled.

Angel: If that were true there'd be a bullet wound. She couldn't know for certain that she succeeded, could have panicked and ran away. But it doesn't explain how Quentin died.

Giles: Anything you want to share with the rest of the class Ethan?

Ethan: Why do you assume I'm the one who killed Quentin?

Giles: Because you set this whole thing up, gave us all lethal weapons, and tried to make us all angry enough to kill him.

Ethan: I didn't think any of you would kill him. You're suppossed to be the good guys.

Buffy: What exactly did you think would happen?

Ethan: I thought the darkness, the weapons, would frighten Quentin enough to give you all your freedom.

Xander: From what, we all chose to be a part of this?

Ethan: I know how he thinks, or did think. Quentin was recruiting others to infiltrate your little group, maybe he even made one or two of you an offer.

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The group all started looking around at each other. If anyone had been recruited to be a spy, or anything else recently, they weren't saying.

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Ethan: At any rate, these people would have murdered you if you ever tried to leave. I was trying to help you avoid that, and stick it to a symbol of authority.

Giles: Or you just enjoy worshiping chaos. At any rate, who made the food tonight?

Ethan: Why?

Giles: Because Quentin is dead, but we can't find any visibe injuries. So, poison is the most likely weapon.

Ethan: That's a good plan, wish I'd thought of it. And to answer your question, it was that young maid, Tara. As far as I know she's in the kitchen.

Xander: Are you saying we all ate poisoned food?

Giles: Quentin didn't eat dinner with us. If that had been poisoned we'd all probably be dead by now. It seems clear that Quentin was the only target.

Willow: What about Cordelia?

Ethan: Good question. I could definitely see myself wanting to poison Quentin Travers, but I had nothing against Cordelia. Where she might have gone too, I don't know. I suggest we find her and Tara, and ask them.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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After Quentin died and Cordelia dissapeared the group decided to stay together. None of the others were certain that Ethan could be trusted. They soon found Tara hiding in the kitchen.

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Tara: Please don't hurt me.

Willow: We're not going to hurt you.

Tara: I heard a gunshot, got scared.

Ethan: May I ask Tara, how did you come across this job?

Tara: That english guy, Quentin, said that he would pay me to make dinner and clean up after.

Giles: So you weren't hired by Ethan here?

Tara: No.

Ethan: Still don't trust me Ripper?

Giles: No, I don't.

Willow: Tara, did you see Cordelia?

Tara: Not since I rought you all to that room after dinner.

Xander: She's missing, and she may or may not have killed Quentin.

Angel: He might have been poisoned, but he wasn't shot.

Tara: I didn't poison anyone.

Xander: You I believe.

Angel: You got something to say Xander?

Xander: Okay, you might be the only one with the experience, and the stealth, to break Quentin's neck without leaving a mark.

Angel: Given that he put Buffy in danger, I could see myself killing Quentin. But why would I hurt Cordelia.

Xander: I'll give you that. I still think she might have tried to kill Quentin, or maybe the gun just went off by accident, and Cordelia just panicked.

Willow: Maybe we should keeplooking for her.

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The group, which now included Tara, continued to look for Cordelia. Soon eough, they found her, dead. Cordelia's body had a knife in the back, yet the gun was near her body.

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Ethan: I don't understand. Why wouldn't Cordelia shoot the intruder.

Willow: It looks like, whoever it was, they snuck up behind her. And she wasn't exactly an expert on guns.

Xander: Any idea how long she's been dead?

Willow: We all saw her in the parlor, alive. That was about 15 minutes ago.

Xander: Any chance you can do something sciency and narrow it down further?

Willow: By the time I got some proper equipment, the body will have deteriorated to the point where I couldn't narrow it to the exact minute. But those 15 minutes, fairly good estimation.

Giles: And with noone else in this mansion, I'm not liking what the Council might decide to do with us. They're not always sticklers for reasonable doubt.

Ethan: I'm sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen.

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The group was moving Cordelia's body to the parlor with Quentin, yet Quentin's body was gone. This certainly brought up more questions than answers.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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The death of Cordelia and the dissapearence of Quentin's body made everyone else more than a little uneasy. People, friends, suspected each other. Giles did what he could to calm everyone down.

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Giles: Let us remain calm. First let's examine what we know.

Willow: Okay, Cordelia has been murdered, Quentin was also murdered but apparently his body then dissapeared, and noone, or almost noone, is sure whether or not the murderer is in this very room.

Xander: No offense Willow, that doesn't make me more calm.

Giles: Most of us had reason to murder Quentin, with the possibe exception of Tara. But who had reason to murder Cordelia?

Willow: Someone she was mean too, so pretty much anyone who knew her.

Ethan: What about Quentin?

Buffy: What about him?

Ethan: Hear me out on this. When Cordelia realized that Quentin used her like this, maybe she did take a shot at him, then fled in panic. Quentin realized that his only chance of surviving was to be dead already. Then, when we were all searching for Tara, Quentin murdered Cordelia. He could still be hiding in this house somewhere.

Jenny: That does kind of make sense.

Giles: I hope you're right.

Tara: Why do you hope that?

Giles: Because if Quentin murdered Cordelia then we can turn him over to the Watcher's Council to face justice. If on the other hand, one of us murdered Quentin, they will come for us.

Angel: I examined Quentin, he died the same time Cordelia dissapeared.

Xander: And if there's one thing Angel is an expert on, it would be death.

Angel: Thanks, I think.

Jenny: But death isn't neccessarily the end, is it?

Giles: Not in our world, no. Other than the seven of us, is there anyon else in this house?

Tara: I don't think so.

Ethan: But few know about all of the secret passagways in this mansion, someone could esily hide without any of us knowing about it.

Giles: Then I suggest we split up, and search this house. There are four floors, we can split up into teams of two. If there are no objections we'll draw straws. Shortest two together, next shortest together and so forth. I also suggest that the two shortest search the basement and so on up.

Willow: Quick question, what do we do if the killer turns out to be one of us?

Giles: That's an excellant question. We'll deal with that if we determine for certain that it's one of us. The first step is determining exactly who the killer is.

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As the group was about to draw straws they heard a knock on the door. This wasn't goo, the last thing they needed was some civilian nosing around. And who exactly would be here at this time of night?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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The eight of them quickly made themselves as calm as possible, and answered the door. Outside was a young man named Daniel Osbourne, known to his friends as Oz.

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Giles: Can we help you young man?

Oz: My van broke down about a mile back. Can I use your phone to call for a mechanic?

Giles: Certainly. I'll take you to the phone in the kitchen. Please help yourself to any food or drink that you like.

Oz: Thanks, I am kind of hungry.

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Giles escorted Oz to the kitchen. The entire group hoped that this stranger would be distracted with food and his call, and that he wouldn't notice while the rest of them searched for a possible murderer, and possibly Quentin's dead boy. They drew straws for partners. Xander and Willow got the basement, Tara and Angel got the first floor, Giles and Ethan got the second floor, and Jenny got the attic with Buffy. The Winchester Mansion had many rooms and secret passagways. It probably wouldn't be hard for a human or demon killer to hide here. As it turned out, Angel and Tara found Quentin's body on the first floor pretty soon. As quietly as they could they alerted the rest of their group about this development. Quentin was dead, his head seemed to have been smashed by something. They began trying to remember who got the candlestick, who had the lead pipe, and who had the wrench.

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Giles: Well Ethan?

Ethan: Well what?

Giles: Who had what weapon?

Ethan: I don't know. I knew Angel wouldn't need a weapon, beyond that I didn't keep track of who got what weapon. But I swear, I thought it would be enough to scare Quentin.

Buffy: You know we all consider you a suspect right.

Ethan: Yes, I had a feeing that "Most" of you think that I might be the killer. But here's an interesting, point, why would anyone need to kill him twice? Xander was right about one thing at least, Angel knows about death. Surely with his experience he would know the difference between someone who was alive or dead. If Quentin was trying to fake being dead, he couldn't fool Angel.

Buffy: If Angel was going to murder someone, he wouldn't need a candlestick, or a lead pipe, or a wrench.

Ethan: Perhaps if Quentin got his neck snapped we would be suspicious of Angel. Certainly if he had two marks in his neck and lost a lot of blood that would be suspicious. On the other hand, getting his head smashed with a blunt object, no reason we'd be more suspicious of him than anyone else.

Angel: I didn't kill Quentin, he was already dead. I don't know why anyone would kill him a second time. Here's a question for you Ethan, how come you have all the good theories? Maybe you're just trying to deflect suspicion from yourself.

Giles: Angel makes a valid point. I suggest we continue searching the mansion for anyone else.

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As the group continued their search, Oz tried to make himself hidden. He had heard enough, Quentin was dead, and Cordelia was noticeably missing. Oz felt he should contact some of his "friends" because his own life might be in danger.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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Oz made another call from the phone in the kitchen. He had to be discreet, because if he was caught his life was in danger. Oz called his good friend Riley Finn.

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Riley: Everything okay Oz?

Oz: No. Quentin is dead, I think Cordelia is too.

Riley: What about our other contact inside?

Oz: Couldn't approach this individual directly, couldn't risk endangering this person's cover. Of the other seven, I think one of them is the killer.

Riley: So just one of them, not a conspiracy?

Oz: I'm pretty sure.

Riley: Okay, I'll come, with reinforcements. Until then, keep your head down and try to stay safe.

Oz: I will.

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As Oz hung up the phone, he didn't realize that someone was sneaking up ehind him, someone with a wrench. This individual, one of the seven that Oz suspected, hit Oz on the head with a wrench, killing him instantly.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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When Xander and Willow searched the basement they were briefly seperated. When Xander found Willow she had discovered a secret stairway. They followed it upstairs, and it led to the kitchen. There they discovered Oz's dead body. The secret door soon closed behind them, and the kitchen door was locked from the outside. This understandably frightened both of them, so they started screaming, and the six others came downstairs. In all the excitement noone noticed Tara leaving, or coming back with the gun. In her own excitement Tara tripped, and the gun went off. This ofcourse frightened everyone, was Tara the killer? When she told everyone to back away from the door, they obeyed. Xander and Willow weren't sure what was going on, but they heard the gunshots. Tara told them to back away from the door, and they did. Tara then shot the locks twice, allowing Xander and Willow to leave, allowing everyone to see Oz's dead body.

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Ethan: Did you guys kill him?

Willow: Ofcourse not. Me and Xander found Oz like this. We found the secret passagway which led to the kitchen, and the body.

Ethan: And you were together the whole time?

Willow: Mostly. We did briefly get seperate, but were any of the other teams seperated during their respective search?

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All six others quietly nodded, noone could be 100% certain that their partner didn't slip away long enough to commit this murder. Almost noone could be certain.

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Ethan: Perhaps the better question is, how did Tara get the revolver, when all the weapons were locked up?

Tara: I didn't. I thought I would break the cabinet down, but it was already unlocked. Who had the key?

Giles: I did. You all saw me throw it outside, perhaps one of you went out there to find it.

Ethan: Or perhaps you used a magician's trick to pocket the key.

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As the group was once again arguing there was another knock on the door. This was not good, especially considering what happenned to the last guy who knocked on the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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Against their better judgement, the eight of them opened the door. It was risky, trying to prevent this person from seeing the three dead bodies. But he said he was a police officer, if they didn't let him in now he might come back with more cops. And they still weren't sure what they were going to do if they learned who the murderer was. So they let this police officer, Riley Finn, inside.

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Riley: My name is Riley Finn, I'm with the San Fransisco Police Department.

Giles: What can we do for you officer?

Riley: I got a call from a colleague of mine, Daniel Osbourne, likes to go by the nickname of Oz. He said he was worried that there were some strange goings on here.

Giles; Well there was a young man here earlier. He said his van broke down and asked to use the phone. I admit I haven't seen him for a little while, I assumed his towtruck arrived and he left.

Riley: Mind if I look around?

Giles: Ofcourse officer.

Riley: If you folks could please remain here, I might have some questions later.

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As Riley looked around the mansion the other eight quietly discussed what their strategy should now be. They had lied to a police officer, for all intents and purposes covered up three murders, and they had no evidence of anyone else being in this mansion. They still weren't sure which of them might have commited these murders, maybe they should tell officer Finn the truth and take their chances. The Watcher's Council would probably spring Buffy, considering how valuable she was, and Angel could easily escape now and dissapear, he'd had enough experience with that. The other six would probably be screwed. As they were discussing strategy one of them quietly slipped away, made their way to the fuse box, and turned off all the electricity to this mansion. The lights went out, and before they came back on, some of these people would already be dead.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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When the lights went out, Tara quietly slipped away from the main group, and went to the designated spot. Tara had been supplying this other individual with information, not asking too many questions at the moment. Hopefully that would be enough to earn this person's forgiveness. Hopefully. But as soon as Tara reached this spot her "friend" quickly put the rope around Tara's neck. She fought back ofcourse, but it was no use. This person quickly strangled Tara to death.

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When the lights went out Riley began calling his superiors. He hadn't found Oz, Cordelia, or Quentin, and he now feared that his own life was in danger. Indeed, someone quietly snuck up behind Riley, used the lead pipe to disconnect the phone, then raised the pipe to murder Riley.

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There was yet another knock on the door. Someone answered it, but not before picking up the gun where Tara had dropped it, and found Anya standing outside. This person quickly recognized Anya. This individual shot Anya, killing her instantly.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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The group, what remained of them, eventually found the fuse box and turned the lights back on. They soon found the bodies of Tara and Riley, but neither of them seemed to have been killed with a gun. They opened the door and found Anya's body. As they moved the body inside Ethan realized that the gun was missing.

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Ethan: I believe I know who the murderer is.

Jenny: How?

Ethan: The killings were not random in nature. We all had motive to murder Quentin, and the others. In fact, everyone of these other five were, I believe, Quentin's operatives. People he recruited, bribed really, to infiltrate your little group.

Giles: You seem to be the only one who believes that, so you're still my top suspect.

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Ethan then went into his theory about how the killer operated throught the evening, including turning off the fuse box.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

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Note: This is the final chapter. It's a long one, but hopefully you'll see it is worth it.

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When Ethan turned the lights back on the others were somewhat upset.

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Buffy: Would you please just tell us who the murderer is?

Ethan: Xander made a good point, given Angel's experience with death Quentin couldn't have possibly fooled him. So why would he claim that Quentin was already dead?

Xander: So he could kill Quentin himself?

Ethan: Quite the opposite. We all heard the gunshot, but Cordelia was missing. Perhaps the gun went off when someone tried to take it from her, someone who killed Cordelia. Quentin knew his only chance to stay alive was to fake death, but why would Angel want to save his life? It was because of love, namely he was trying to keep someone here from making the biggest mistake of her life. As much as he might want vengeance, saving Buffy was more important. Buffy is the killer.

Buffy: That's a lie.

Angel: I admit, it did occur to me that maybe Buffy tried to kill him. Yes, I helped Quentin fake his death so that Buffy wouldn't try again.

Buffy: I didn't kill anyone. Well not humans anyway. Anyway why would I kill all the others?

Ethan: Because you knew they were Quentin's operatives. You knew that Cordelia was no longer as rich as she wanted everyone to think. Her family's failure to pay their taxes made her subsceptible to Quentin's bribery.

Buffy: I never met any of the others before tonight.

Ethan: Actually, you met Tara. She approached you, told you about Quentin's manipulations. Perhaps she just felt sorry for you, maybe she had a crush on you. At any rate, you decided that she couldn't be trusted. So you turned off the lights, strangled Tara, hit Riley on the head with the lead pipe, picked up the gun where Tara dropped it, answered the knock on the door, recognized Tara, and shot her.

Buffy: You're making all of this up, probably to divert suspicion away from yourself.

Ethan: The gun is missing. Gentlemen turn out your pockets, ladies empty your purses. Whoever has the gun is the murderer.

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With this Buffy knew she'd been caught and removed the gun from her purse. The others were shocked, less so when Buffy pointed her gun at Ethan.

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Buffy: Okay yes, I killed them all.

Giles: But why?

Buffy: Ethan was right about one thing. I don't like these people playing games with my life, or my friends' lives. With all of them dead, the other watchers will think twice about coming after us. So Ethan, what do you plan to do about this?

Ethan: Nothing.

Buffy: Really?

Ethan: I thought we could frighten Quentin into giving all of you your freedom. You made a good point, this might frighten the other watchers, let them know what will happen if they come after you, or us ofcourse. I suggest we dispose of these bodies, leave quietly one at a time, and pretend that none of this ever happenned.

Buffy: Good idea. As for the rest of you, I do consider you my friends. But if you try and turn me over to the police, I don't recommend it. Ethan however, is a loose end. Him I don't trust to keep a secret.

Angel: I can't judge you for this Buffy, but we do need a scapegoat, like someone who worships chaos.

Ethan: This isn't going as planned. Let's try again.

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When Ethan turned the lights back on the others were visibly upset.

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Buffy: Would you please just tell us who killed these people?

Ethan: Xander was right about one thing. Given Angel's experience, he wouldn't be fooled if Quentin was faking death. When Angel heard the gunshot, he feared that Buffy might have tried to kill him. And as much as Angel might wnt revenge, protecting Buffy from making the biggest mistake of her life was more important.

Buffy: That's a lie.

Angel: Actually, it did occur to me that Buffy might have tried to shoot him. That's why I helped Quentin fake his death, so that Buffy would calm down and not make a second attempt. But someone, I honestly don't know who, killed him anyway.

Buffy: It wasn't me.

Ethan: I believe you. The question is, who knaw that all of the other deceased were his operatives. The person Tara contacted. Maybe she felt sorry for this person, maybe she had a crush on this person. At any rate, they devised a plan to make a stand, and murder both Quentin and the other operatives. Tara was the one who murdered Cordelia, and Quentin. But despite this, the other person decided that Tara couldn't be trusted. she had after all changed sides once.

Xander: So who is the guy who you claim worked with Tara to kill all of these people?

Ethan: I never said this person was male. Tara was a lesbian, she fell in love with the other woman.

Angel: Okay. then who was the other woman?

Ethan: Willow.

Willow: I didn't kill anyone.

Ethan: There's a simple way to determine this. The gun is missing. Gentlemen turn out your pockets, ladies empty your purses. Whoever has the gun, is the murderer.

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Willow knew she was caught and removed the gun from her purse.

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Xander: My god it's true. You really killed them all?

Willow: Yes. They were threatening my friends, my real family. I did what I had to do.

Giles: Perhaps the Watcher's Council doesn't need to know the truth. I hate to set up an old friend, but I will.

Ethan: What do you think I'll do if they interrogate me?

Willow: You have a point Giles. Sorry Ethan, but you're a loose end.

Ethan: Et Tu Willow. This isn't going as I'd hoped, let's try one more time.

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When Ethan turned the light back on, everyone was understandably upset.

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Buffy: Just tell us who killed Quentin and the others.

Ethan: Xander was right about one thing, given Angel's experience with death, Quentin could never fool him. But why help him fake his death?

Xander: So he could kill Quentin himself?

Ethan: That's exactly right. While we were all searching for Cordelia and Tara he slipped away, he's always been very good at stealth. Quentin was making a break for the door, when Angel killed him with the candlestick. You used a weapon so that people would think a human probably did the murder.

Angel: Maybe I did what I had to do to protect Buffy, but I didn't kill the others.

Willow: You expect us to believe that?

Ethan: I expect you to believe it, you killed Cordelia.

Willow: I panicked. I did want to kill Quentin for what he did to Buffy. I tried to grab the gun from her, and we both just kind of panicked.

Ethan: As for Oz, I believe that was Ripper. Did you also panic, fear he would alert the Watcher's Council?

Giles: Yes, I killed him. I thought I snuck away from you Ethan.

Ethan: Then Buffy turned off the lights, and strangled the girl who had told her everything, Tara. You probably thought you were Tara's only accomplice, did you know she had contacted the others, did you think Tara was possibly the killer?

Buffy: The thought crossed my mind.

Ethan: And you Xander, did you think that perhaps Riley was the killer, when you murdered him.

Xander: I knew he was planning to get close to Buffy, to use her, that was reason enough to kill him.

Jenny: Am I the only one here who didn't murder anyone tonight?

Ethan: Not exactly, you did after all murder Anya.

Jenny: No I didn't.

Ethan: The gun is missing. Gentlemen turn out your pockets, ladies empty your purses. Whoever has the gun, is the murderer of Anya.

.

At this point Jenny knew there was no longer any point in pretending. She removed the gun from her purse.

.

Jenny: What now?

Giles: Are you terribly experienced with firearms?

Jenny: Not really. I got lucky with that shot killing her.

Giles: Perhaps you should hand it to me then, so that the final bullet isn't accidentally discharged.

Jenny: Fair enough.

Willow: What exactly are we going to do about the six dead bodies?

Xander: As far as I can tell, we were all just doing what we had to do to protect our loved ones. I don't see why we have to involve the authorities.

Giles: Unfortunately the Watcher's Council won't just let this slide. On the other hand, we could convince them that Ethan here, who already worships chaos, commited these murders.

Ethan: Some things don't change. But one thing has changed this time.

Giles: And what would that be?

.

Before anyone could stop him Ethan pulled a second gun from his pocket and shot Giles, mortally wounding him. As Giles lay dying Ethan then spoke into his chest, telling them to come in. It seemed that Ethan was working with the Watcher's Council, trying to wead out which of Quentin's operatives was leaking information. Things had gotten out of hand, and now these other five would have to pay for their crimes.

.

Giles woke up from this strange dream. Jenny was sleeping by his side. He wasn't sure what had caused this strange dream, and who exactly were Tara, Oz, Riley, and Anya? At any rate Giles couldn't help but wonder if this dream had been caused by his old friend Ethan Rayne. That did seem like his style, to mess with Rupert's mind, probably mess with the others' minds, just for kicks. Perhaps Ethan just wanted to be the hero of his own story, perhaps he just wanted to see attractive women shooting guns. That would explain why Ethan felt the need to give three different endings, and not even bother to explain how he figured out who the killers were. Giles just hoped this was the extant of Ethan's meddling, hopefully.


End file.
